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Weasel season

You know it's an election year, and people have been looking at polls, when politicians start shedding previously cherished convictions. U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford of the First Congressional District, for one, is showing a newly acquired flexibility. Democrats think they have a good chance to beat the Republican freshman. Evidently, he thinks so too, and so, he's publicly reneging on the promise he made last year to support a moratorium on those spending projects in individual members' districts that are sometimes known as "pork." Crawford has learned that residents of low-income congressional districts like the First want and need federal assistance to pave streets, replace bridges and build sewer lines.

It's reported that Rep. Steve Womack of the Third District is backing off the no-pork pledge too. The other two Republican members of the Arkansas Congressional Delegation, Sen. John Boozman and Rep. Tim Griffin, are thus far keeping their anti-pork word, Griffin because he likes ideology better than people, Boozman because he's not on the ballot this year and because he prefers inactivity to the hard work of capturing federal funds for his home state. Ronald Reagan was our best-rested president. Boozman seems bent on becoming Arkansas's best-rested senator.

AETN began taping political debates this morning for airing later, but, as yet, the live streaming isn't working. Too bad. /more/

Chintan Desai, the Democratic candidate for 1st District Congress, has blasted Republican incumbent Republican Rep. Rick Crawford for dodging public meetings and having U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes to town for a private fund-raiser. Desai slammed them both for attacking the FBI in defense of Donald Trump. /more/

Taking a vote: You pick the best statement on the Buffalo River hog farm situation by candidates for Third District Congress. /more/

Chintan Desai, the Democratic candidate for 1st District Congress, just dropped by with some news: An endorsement, a debate date and a celebrity visitor for his Republican incumbent opponent, Rep. Rick Crawford. /more/

An Azerbaijan news agency reports on a visit from U.S. Rep. Devin Nunes, Donald Trump's protector on the House Intelligence Committee, along with committee member, Rep. Rick Crawford, a Republican from Arkansas's 1st Congressional District. /more/

Despite Donald Trump's support, the U.S. House today could muster only 121 votes for a hard-line immigration bill, against 301 nays. Republican U.S. Reps. French Hill and Steve Womack voted for the bill. /more/

1st District Congressman Rick Crawford's tweet that President Trump's tariffs raised soybean exports 21 percent is getting blasted by his Democratic opponent in the face of a drop in U.S. soybean export prices. /more/

Rep. Steve Womack, as chair of the House Budget Committee, took the lead yesterday in introducing a Republican budget plan aimed at fixing growing deficits. "A Brighter Future," the GOP is spinning it. He didn't mention that rising deficits were made worse by the tax cut for the rich he supported. Nor did he mention the pain his budget will cause millions of Americans. /more/

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We're sad to report that Doug Smith has decided to retire. Though he's been listed as an associate editor on our masthead for the last 22 years, he has in fact been the conscience of the Arkansas Times. He has written all but a handful of our unsigned editorials since we introduced an opinion page in 1992.

Last week, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel became the first elected statewide official to express support for same-sex marriage. His announcement came days before Circuit Judge Chris Piazza is expected to rule on a challenge to the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. Soon after, a federal challenge of the law is expected to move forward. McDaniel has pledged to "zealously" defend the Arkansas Constitution but said he wanted the public to know where he stood.

Remarking as we were on the dreariness of this year's election campaigns, we failed to pay sufficient tribute to the NRA, one of the most unsavory and, in its predictability, dullest of the biennial participants in the passing political parade.